A Homily for Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Friday, March 27, 2026
Prince of Peace Catholic Church – 8:00 Mass
Jeremiah 20:10-13; Psalm 18:2-3a, 3bc-4, 5-6, 7; John 10:31-42
Audio Recording
As we move closer to Holy Week, our readings take on a sharper tone. The tension around Jesus is rising. Opposition is becoming more open and more dangerous. In our first reading, the prophet Jeremiah speaks from his own experience of betrayal and fear, foreshadowing the experience of Christ leading up to the Passion.
Together, these readings remind us that faith does not remove life’s struggles — but it gives us the courage to trust that the Lord stands beside us like a mighty champion.
Jeremiah knew what it means to feel surrounded by hostility. He says, “All those who were my friends are on the watch for any misstep of mine.” Yet even in fear and loneliness, he proclaims with confidence: “The Lord is with me, like a mighty champion.” His trust does not come from an easy life. It comes from knowing that God is faithful even when circumstances are not.
That experience is not limited to prophets. We, too, share the experience of carrying burdens as people of faith. Many of us know what it means to carry burdens quietly — health concerns, family worries, grief, or uncertainty about the future. Our faith doesn’t remove the struggle, but it allows us to persevere right in the middle of it.
Jeremiah teaches us something essential: trust in God does not mean life becomes simple. It means we are never alone in its complexity.
The Gospel shows us that Jesus Himself entered fully into that same complexity. People pick up stones to kill Him because He claims unity with the Father. They simply can’t accept what He reveals about Himself.
The tension we see here didn’t arise suddenly. It follows the great sign of the raising of Lazarus — the moment when many began to believe in Jesus, and others became determined to stop Him.
That miracle became the turning point, the last straw for those who feared His growing influence. From that moment forward, opposition hardened into a decision: Jesus must be put to death. Yet instead of arguing endlessly, Jesus points them to His works: “Even if you do not believe me, believe the works.” In other words, look at what God is doing right in front of you.
That is still how faith grows today. We may not always understand everything God is doing, but we can recognize His presence in His works — answered prayers, unexpected strength in hardship, reconciliation in families, the quiet grace that carries us through illness, and the peace that comes even when circumstances remain unresolved. God’s works surround us if we learn to notice them.
As we approach the final days of Lent, the Church invites us to examine where we are being asked to trust more deeply. Perhaps it’s trusting God with something unresolved. Perhaps it’s forgiving someone. Perhaps it is accepting a change we didn’t choose. Whatever it is, today’s readings assure us that faith does not require perfect clarity — only confidence that the Lord stands beside us like a mighty champion.
So let us ask for the grace to recognize the works of God in our lives and to trust him completely, even when life feels complicated. And like Jeremiah, let us keep singing His praise — not because everything is easy, but because the Lord never abandons those who trust in Him.